


Discover

by TheShipDen



Series: Run to me [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angry Gavin Reed, Badass Upgraded Connor | RK900, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Connor & Gavin Reed Friendship, Connor is an asshole, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Gavin Reed Being an Idiot, Gavin Reed Tries, Gavin Reed Whump, Gavin Reed has a dog, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin Reed's cats - Freeform, Good Friend Tina Chen, Hurt Upgraded Connor | RK900, Isolation, Italian Gavin Reed, Love at First Sight, M/M, Nosebleed, POV Gavin Reed, Possessive Upgraded Connor | RK900, Protective Gavin Reed, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed Friendship, Touch-Starved Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Deserves Happiness, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Baby, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Bad at Feelings, Upgraded Connor | RK900 is In Denial About Deviancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-07-19 23:09:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19982098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShipDen/pseuds/TheShipDen
Summary: That's when he sees him, the on the run RK900 model standing there. Watching him, passively, before he turns his attention back towards his hand. He's so enticed by the rain-Gavin's heart stutters.





	1. Briefing

**Author's Note:**

> all artwork can be found here! [ Escape](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19837774/chapters/46974763)
> 
> enjoy!!

It’s an utter bitch of a mess.

Gavin has to do his absolute fucking best to not to groan every five seconds, craves a cigarette more then he craves a handsome bastard for a quick lay, and carry on with his work. Or rather, carry on pretending to give a fuck about the break in he had to report in, which was a total bust by the way. Just another senile old person that needed to go in a home. What a fucking waste of time. 

It was when Fowler yelled at everyone to gather in the briefing room that Gavin just knew that his day was going to be that much more complicated. And when he looked apprehensive like that, almost constipated, everyone was gonna be in for it. 

So he found himself sitting by the front of the room, towards the left with Tina sitting behind him, staring across from a pensive Connor to an equally as done with it Hank. 

“This is going to be our biggest case, it can make this department or _break it.”_ Fowler rumbled, his voice even and stern as he looked out at the sea of officers and detectives at his disposal. “So don’t, and I repeat, _do not_ mess this up. Jericho has entrusted us with this task and if we fail it, the entire nation is at stake.”

Murmurs rose out among the crowd, even Gavin had sat up straight and was staring at the captain with interest and a bit of trepidation. The last big case they were handed had been that Red Ice storm, it made Hank Lieutenant and made the station look untouchable and pristine. The other officers on the old dick’s force had gotten accepted into higher positions, some as FBI, others as Captains in different precincts, and so on. So naturally, everyone was curious as to what fresh hell had been unleashed on the streets for them to clean up. Gavin especially was paying extra close attention. Sergeant, here he comes. 

There was the sound of the door, the familiar clunk of armored bodies shuffling inside, and everyone bristled. They turned their heads in the direction of the noise, all ready for Fowler to shout at the late comers. 

_SWAT._

What the fuck were they even _doing_ here? This wasn’t their case!

“I’ll leave the explaining up to Markus, he’s offered us his time and advice. Don’t make it a waste.” Fowler warned before the projector fired up and displayed the deadpan set expression of Jericho’s courageous leader. Overzealous asshole, to Gavin, but what he did took balls. So he wasn’t entirely bad. 

“Thank you for heeding my word, it is my honor to be working alongside the department with such a golden record. Furthermore, I wish to express my gratitude for responding to my call in such busy times. I know with the laws changing, your workload has far doubled and I appreciate the justice everyone has delivered so swiftly in accommodation to these changes.”

The tone had the warmth inside of it, and Gavin could see it infect a few people around the room. Allen’s guys stood stock still and poised, as if they could blend into their surroundings if they didn’t move long enough. What a damn joke. Didn’t fit in and didn’t even try to. 

“There is a high level threat out there. One more dangerous than anything in comparison, as you know, Cyberlife was taken down during the revolution and it’s factories shut down. The company is now in my jurisdiction which has been passed onto Simon, used as a hospital for androids. It has many parts for use since no new models are being made and the projects that have not been finished, mostly shut down failures, have been scrapped.”

As Markus dives further into the history and topic, Connor fidgets. The closer the leader gets to the point of calling them all in here, the more the android tenses and shifts. His hands changing from drumming on the table to toying with the buttons on his shirt, to smoothing out wrinkles. He’s moving so damn much that Gavin’s temper is triggered and rising, but so is Hank’s. And with a scowl, the old rat makes him stop. 

“Connor is a prototype, all of his functions and abilities were being tested during the revolution. They saw there was room for improvement and profit, and altered his design for the next model line. Which is where I make my case.”

Markus looks so firm, the authority he holds inside his mismatched eyes spike a fire inside the room. There’s dread, a bit of resentment and maybe just a little shame. _Why shame?_

“RK900 is the finished version of Connor. He is a military grade android who’s strength, processing power, and reflexes far outweigh my own and every other android ever made. Connor as well. A perfect deviant hunter that has theoretically no mistakes and cannot be turned deviant.”

Tina’s brows furrowed, her mouth thinning as she frowned. “A deviant hunter in a world full of deviants?”

“Now you can see our worry.” Markus mutters. 

“Just what are his capabilities?” Allen interjects, looking as serious and uncaring as normal. Gavin doesn’t like him all that much, asshole had a god complex when it boils down to things but not as bad as Perkins. God- no one was as bad as Perkins. 

“Connor is better suited to discussing those matters. RK900 threatens the community- everyone’s security is in jeopardy.”

“How long has this fucker been runnin’ amuck?” Hank grumbled, reclined in his seat but no less attentive. 

“Roughly, a few hours. The CEOs wanted to keep his existence secret so no one knew he was there. He’s a high level project designed to end wars and topple countries, if something were to happen to him without their say, they have security measures for it. Hence, the alarm being pulled.”

“They couldn’t have done somethin’ better than sounding some alarm?” Gavin complained, resting his chin on his hand.

“They won’t risk terminating their multimillion dollar project.” Allen bitterly added, his eyes ripping the sea of people apart until they fall onto Connor’s shoulders. Said android did everything he could not to meet the look. 

“So, we’re pulling an APB?” Chris asked from the back of the room, looking towards Fowler. 

“Yes. We’ll talk procedures and strategies at the end of the briefing.” Fowler huffed, leaning against his podium as Markus gave one last surveying look around.

“I must remind everyone, RK900 is not prone to be hostile to humans. As a safety measure, human patrols and units are desired for working this. But even so, don’t test your luck. Do not engage the RK900. Especially, not alone. You stand no chance against him should he deem you an obstacle to his mission.”

“What mission?” Gavin growls. 

“We’re not sure. He escaped the tower before the technicians could complete all of his programming. What he knows and doesn’t know is a wild guess, at best.”

“You should have already sent my team out.” Allen says harshly, there was that fucking god complex. Criticizing a fucking Revulotion leader. He always thought him and his team could handle anything, fools would fight the devil itself if given the right means. 

“You, the DPD, and the FBI are all working together on this. And your team is used in violent cases. I must remind you all that while RK900 is an android, he also has his rights. Our aim is not to kill him but to contain him until we can come up with a better plan to free him.”

Allen looks ready to argue but before he could, Markus carries on. The Jericho leader has little patience today, it makes Gavin grin. 

“SWAT is the muscle, should anyone need it. The FBI is tracking and our eagle’s eye, the DPD is our runners. RK900 is intelligent, smarter than all of us combined, which is _why_ all of us need to be on the same page to stand a chance at catching him.”

“Surely, Connor should’ve known something!” Gavin pipes up, sending his gaze towards the only android gathered inside the room. 

While his fidgeting had stopped, mostly, the wild spin of his LED did not. He’d watch it dip into red at certain intervals, and be it a force of will or not, Connor was keeping it yellow. His face contorted right then, changing as if Gavin hadn’t seen the expression before it had the chance to disappear.

The bitch looked downright guilty, like a child afraid of getting in trouble, and a little worried. But the wrong kind of worry. 

Then it shifted, looking unbothered and skeptical now. The usual snobby look he shot Gavin whenever he proposed a theory the android didn’t like. They weren’t friends, sure, but they were someone close. The detective being the one that didn’t want to smudge that well defined line. The asshole was too much of a suck up, too artificially kind and he had a knack for telling Gavin he was wrong. All the fucking time. There was only so much of that he could tolerate. 

Yet, they had their soft moments too. Cases that were hard on Gavin emotionally; Connor danced between people trying to converse with him and distracted them until Gavin could slink off, randomly brewed coffee sitting at his desk with the perfect temperature and sugar, a little heating pad or ice pack after a physical altercation. And whenever Connor came back less then stark clean, Gavin ridiculed him about it but offered the poor sap his change of clothes. Hank’s clothes were too much of an eye sore, and too baggy. Gavin’s frame was a closer fit, not identical obviously, but it was the different look and style that Connor appreciated. 

So, no, they weren’t friends. Gavin held a grudge towards the evidence locker scene. He didn’t allow Connor in his space for very long, never wanted the android’s touch, never asked for him on a case. 

But when the timing mattered the most, he put it aside. 

Gavin was not Connor’s friend, Connor was Gavin’s, but not the other way around. 

They tiptoed around each other, knew each other well from the first angry portion of their time together, but that’s about it. Gavin didn’t prefer Connor’s company- no matter how nice it could be, the kiss ass. And at the end of the day, that’s all it was. _Sucking up._

He didn’t trust that asshole for a second. (Sorta.)

“It _is_ his model line.” Gavin finished his thought, turning everyone’s eyes with an invisible hand to the said android in question. 

And because Gavin knew how Connor ticked, he knew that Connor was covering his own tracks. 

Just like the Tracis, just like the secret deviancy, and just like now. 

“Just because my successor and I come from the same place does not mean that I am always in the loop.” Connor starts polishedly. “When I was to be replaced, they would see no need to alert me to such matters. I would’ve been terminated permanently and RK900 would’ve walked soon after.”

“CyberLife doesn’t inform anyone of the moves it makes,” Markus adds to Connor’s defense. There’s some affection that flickers in the blue part of the leader’s eyes that doesn’t go over Gavin’s head. “Everyone was clueless.”

Connor’s grin, while small, was plastered over his face nonetheless. 

Gavin didn’t believe it. 

“Then how does Connor know RK900’s abilities if his existence is so secret?” Gavin fixes Connor a look that the android meets head on. 

This is where they clash, and they _always_ clash. 

“Markus alerted me before all of you. I was sent the blueprints and took a look at the planning process myself. Comparing it to my own functions and the reports of my handlers, I can give you accuracy on what he was made to do.” Connor’s voice is informative but Gavin hears the silent cutthroat air to it. 

A little quiet _stand down._ Something’s eating him up, Gavin can see it slinking over his shoulders. He’s hiding something. 

Tina nudges him and disrupts the glaring match they’ve gotten into. “So what are we looking for?”

______________________________________

They’re sent out right away to scope the surroundings of the tower, try and get an idea of where this runaway android could’ve gone. Gavin’s been in that fight with Connor, to stand up against someone with better capabilities was a little fucking scary. But he always did like crazy. And he had a knack for making stupid decisions when the time definitely was far from _right,_ this was just another example. 

A small team searched the inside of the building, they didn’t want to waste a lot of manpower since no one seemed to think the android would still be there. But you could never be too safe, there was a chance that it could return. Connor positively refuted against this theory but Fowler didn’t want any room for mistakes, he had insisted upon the order and soon people were rolling out to take up their stations. Chris and Ben were inside, with Chris involved in that gun-scare-situation with Markus a few years back, he was a little hesitant. Which was completely understandable all things considered, Gavin had his own trauma so he never brought it up. 

Gavin and Tina partnered up, his academy days hanging over his head like a heavy cloud, except there was no edge to these memories. Only fond ones that he cherished, their partnership and closeness helped them through the most grueling of days back then and he found he could handle things a little bit better with her there. Turns out he needed her for the obstacle course, she could swing and jump from rope to rope like it was fucking nothing while Gavin needed more damn coaxing from the swing over. Sometimes, she’s just too fucking good. 

“Remind me again why we’re doing this in the middle of the fuckin’ night?” Gavin grumbled, walking down the empty parkway streets and shining his assigned flashlight at the shadows. It was thick and metallic, reminded him of his officer duty days. He didn’t miss the uniform. 

“Because the Cap’ said something about it being easier for him to blend in.” Tina chimed, humming under her breath a little tune. “Plus it’s time sensitive. We’re only on shift for another hour or so, it’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad? Chen, need I remind you of my demonic twins at home.” He hissed which earned her a teasing grin from his friend. Tuna and Salad were already tearing up his curtains, he could sense that shit. 

“Okay, well, it could be a fuckton worse! You could have had Princess at home with ‘em!” She happily supplied. 

Gavin frowned, praying to whatever God that was out there a little thanks. Princess, his pitbull that was a gentle giant, loved to get into trouble. Not her fault, however, she was just a curious thing and no matter how many claw marks or ripped up paper he came home to- he still loved her. Yet, when he brought his cats home, they became partners in crime. The only reason she wasn’t at home waiting for him was because of her recent vet vacation. 

“I have that to look forward to tomorrow night.” 

“Then enjoy tonight, dumbass.”

They walked a bit more, covering whatever grounds they could by the park and around the shops until Gavin grew restless and bored. They weren’t gonna find a supercomputer, that android had to have been halfway to fucking Canada by now. “Hey, let’s split up.”

“Alright, Casey Becker, when you get murdered how do you want the funeral?” He shoots her a look and she places a hand to her hip. “We watched The Conjuring together, Saw, Scream, and The Boy! And what happens _every time_ someone splits up?”

“We’re not in a damn horror movie, Eeyore, besides the likelihood of us finding the most advanced robo-bitch is fuckin slim to none. With brains like that, who in their right mind would be in Detroit still?”

“It’s only been a couple hours, Gav.” She argues weakly, a scolding gaze to her eyes. 

“Yeah, and? Android don’t get tired and they run faster than me! You remember my record, that’s saying something!” Gavin waves his hands, the flashlight’s gleam flickering on the windows of closed shops and bouncing right into their eyes.

Tina winces and grabs his wrist, stilling him. “True.”

“All I’m sayin’ is he probably took off and hasn’t stopped, most likely pulled a Dexter and hid in some underground bunker in Florida that’s long forgotten.”

“You gotta finish that show, babe.” She coos, looking around the streets without actually taking in the sights. The nickname was just a pretense. 

The department, having known Gavin as a murderous lone wolf who didn’t mind ruining a friendship to boost his status, was surprised to find him kind to only Tina. They joked together a lot, ate lunch together, partied together, and sometimes went home together to have sleepovers. It was the hatred and toxicity of the community that made them so close, two gays against the world. Tina’s family even took Gavin in during the Chinese celebrations he could not understand for the life of him but tried anyway. And in turn, he introduced them to his own traditions and culture. His mother was fond of her, so Tina was basically a Reed in a way, and him a Chen. She had a key to his house and fair game to everything that was his and everything about him. She’s been through the ugly, the petty disputes, the temper tantrums, the shouting. She’s seen the joyful moments, the highest point of his promotion, the successful cases he’s solved and more. And he’s been there for her. 

Tina was his go to, and that was never going to change. If sixteen years of friendship had anything to say, it’d agree. 

“I will, I will! I just hate Debra and she’s bein’ mad annoying right now.” He rolls his eyes. 

“You only hate her because she _is_ you.” She chuckles, nudging him with her hip. He felt the gun at her side dig into him through his jeans and shifted away. Dick. “What season you on?”

“Season six.”

“She gets better, and worse, in a way.” 

“How the fuck can she be better yet worse?” Gavin scoffed, not finding faith in her words. 

“Look in the mirror and take a long look.” Was Tina’s connvining retort. 

“Oh _har har._ We splitting up or what?”

“Sure, but if you see anything, you Usian Bolt right over to me. Got it?” Jutting a finger into his chest, she’s serious about her demand. The concern melting into a set firmness that he knows from experience is nothing but worry. “We do this together, if something happens to you I swear Gav, I’ll beat you harder then this android does.”

“Same to you, Klon- _dyke_.” He winks and she covers her face with a hand, groaning. “I’ll finish up this block, you take the one across the park. By that burger truck.”

“If I finish before you, I’ll wait by the fountain. Scream loud, radio back, and wildly shake your light in the air in case shit happens. I’ll see it and run to you.”

“I know you hate hearing it, but you’re _just like_ your mother.” Gavin snickers as she bats him in the shoulder with the butt of her light. 

“Alright, _Gavino.”_ Tina smirked, already walking off and leaving Gavin to stand stockstill, gaping like a fish. 

“Use my government name, prick! I’m taking away your familial rights!” He hated that name, especially when an outsider used it. The only person who could say it right and in a way that didn’t disgust him was his mother, she had picked it after all. 

“Tell that to yo mama!” 

Gavin raised her retreating figure the bird, and yelled, “ _Lecca,_ Chen, _Lecca!”_

With that he turned tail and actually picked back up on doing his job.


	2. Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fowler was wrong about it. So was Markus and Connor, the prejudice was unjustified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _ **Warning!!!**_   
> Here's where the fighting starts kiddos,,,,don't read if you're sensitive to violence!

There honestly wasn’t a lot to really see, unless you wanted to count alleycats and the occasional rat. New York had some of the biggest, crack addicted rodents around but sometimes, Gavin thinks, Detroit beats that. He’ll never admit to being startled when an angry rat jumped out at him when he went to investigate rumbling from a dumpster. Fucker was about the size of his whole hand and almost snapped at him. 

That’s mostly all he found. Probably all that he was gonna find, if he’s being honest. 

He’s about to call this operation a bust but checking out one more street couldn’t fucking hurt. Or so, he thought. 

Because that’s when the rain started. 

He cursed, flipping his hood up to try and protect himself. Just what he needed, to get soaked while on duty. It was already cold as fuck outside, he didn’t need to mix the chill with rain. Returning home to his asshole cats who’d only stick their loose hairs on him and yell for food. He’s going to need to wash these if he wants all that fur to be off, no lint roller could salvage the devastation Tuna and Salad do to him. He loves them, he swears he does, but sometimes they’re little devils that try to ruin all his clothes with their shedding.

As he’s turning his head, he spies a little figure towards the back end of an alley. It’s a tall fucker by the looks of it, taller than him he could already tell. Definitely within the six foot range somewhere, Gavin just hoped this wouldn’t turn out to be another drunk parading the streets trying to find their house. That ended up being too much of a hassle more than half the time, aggressive bastards. And the very last thing he wanted to deal with was a black eye or bruised knuckles. As Gavin walks up, making sure his footfalls are silent on the pavement, his suspicions only grow. 

_”Unlike a standard android, his chassis is made up of different components, therefore changing the color of his appearance.”_

The rain pelts against the leather of his jacket, making it stick to him and turning it heavy. His jeans are steadily drenched, as are the socks inside his shoes. What a bitch, he thinks before he’s squinting to see past the layer of water covering his sight. 

_”He is not finished, so his plating is black, except for part of his face.”_

_”Wait- so we’re looking for a walking exoskeleton?” Gavin grunted, scrunching his brow as he tried to picture it._

_”No, Detective Reed. He is more complete than that.” Connor hisses, apparently already fed up with him. Good, he thinks sourly, you lying bitch. Liars piss him off to no end. “Think of it as my face on an exposed android body.”_

_”Gross.” He snarks before Tina kicks him under the table and takes over._

_“He has your face?”_

_“Actually, Officer Chen, he does.” Connor sounds a bit reluctant about that bit of information. “Only slightly different. More ...intimidating, in appearance.”_

And Connor is entirely right. 

As Gavin approaches, he can clearly see the android. Only, it isn’t moving. It’s not lunging at him or sneering or anything. 

It has it’s hand up- _his?-_ whatever. The RK900 is cupping his palm and collecting water, only for it to overflow and drip off the sides of his open fist. Gavin peers it tracking the movements, looking absolutely thrilled and perplexed as more rainwater finds purchase on his body. Speaking of it’s figure, it’s really entirely black. The lights from the surrounding gas stations and pubs shine in tangents off of it’s chassis and the transparent droplets. They make him shine, like a God has descended from it’s heavenly domain and blessed the Earth with its company. 

The hair is Connor’s, but the soaked locks curl and droop from absorbing so much wet. It’s unstyled and looks untameable, yet also softens the hard edges to the android. The lines and sections of its face looking creepy yet so familiar. The sharp jawline and plump lips an upgrade then the dopey, peaceful look to the RK800. It’s fingers flexed and unfurled, the android mesmerized by how it’s own digits dance and spring. It was so soft in the moment, yet so cunningly sharp in all of it’s aspects. 

Gavin doesn’t think it’s ever been out in the rain, but how dumb is that? Surely, Cyberlife tested out its durability. It _had to_ have been outside in a far worse storm. 

So, why was it standing there like that then. Looking entirely gifted, like a toddler receiving the toy it’s been asking for on Christmas day. Except, minus the excited yelling and over dramatic running around. Take those away, mix it with silent amazement and there you have it. 

But then the RK turns, it’s eyes set ablaze with a type of mistrust and fury as it sets its sights onto him. It looks so completely unimpressed, so fed up and reluctant, on guard. It’s such a stark contrast to that earlier softness, those gentle features and quiet awe, that Gavin isn’t sure if he was just imagining something that wasn’t truly there. But staring head on at the android, right into crimson red eyes- blue? They’re blue now? Gavin blinks and sure enough, he’s met with steely ice blue eyes that seem to tear through him like a harpoon. They’re so strong. They make the android’s gaze that much more heavy and Connor was not joking when he mentioned intimidating. 

_But fuck, he had a thing for blue eyes._

Plus, the sharp cheekbones and harsh jawline did him no favors. 

This fucker was downright attractive- which was weird, wasn’t it? Considering it looked far from human. Tina always did call him a monster fucker but damn. 

Those eyes watched him, it’s gaze alone pinning him to where he stood. Hand ready to draw his service weapon but unwilling, it’s sight danced down his chest and just a bit lower before returning. It held such intense eye contact, Gavin wasn’t sure if he was frightened by it or a little excited. But then it looked away. Looked back at it’s hand. 

Now, he wasn’t sure why this surprised him. Or maybe he was worried that, at the same time, it didn’t. 

But the bastard went right back to watching the rain, looking content about it. Like that’s all it wanted to do with it’s life. 

This wasn’t a threat. There was no fucking way a murder bot, who was oh so hostile and oh so dangerous, could be acting so nonchalant and poised about fucking water from the goddamn sky. There had to be some sort of fucking mistake- he hasn’t ever witnessed household models do shit like this. Not even android animals! So just what the _fuck_ was going on here? It made no sense. If the RK900 was so crude, violent, and venomous, then why was it playing in the rain? Why wasn’t it taking Gavin the fuck out like Connor had once before? It hadn’t even made a fucking move against him. 

Then it’s eyes came back to watch him, he caught a twinkle in it’s gaze. But something pinched it’s expression, it’s face moved weirdly and choppy. Brow scrunched, eyes alight with dejection, lips pulling down into a frown. It looked kicked. And god fuck does that not oddly do something to his heart. 

“He- um, Hey.” He called out to it, purposely going with a more delicate tone. “Are you like- well, uh, are you okay?”

That was a dumb question. That was such a dumb fucking question, way to fucking go. 

And he got no answer. 

All the RK did was stare at him. Yet, it’s eyes softened up and the furrow from it’s brow seemed less harsh. Gavin mistook his own words for a slap to the face when he saw the android move and hug itself. So sullen and forlorn, so alienated and distraught. It looked so full of doubt, heavy and cumbersome as it slowly swallowed up the android. It felt like a gunshot to the shoulder, he would know, pesky fucking injuries. It’s LED spun endless cycles of yellow as it gathered itself, the eyes falling onto him once more looked pleading- it wanted to be heard. 

Gavin got the feel that it wasn’t okay at all, nowhere near alright, and maybe it wasn’t so stupid to have asked. 

But he wouldn’t know what the android was going to say next, because within the same second it parted it’s gorgeous lips, actual gunshots fired into the quiet rainy air. Gavin’s eyes flew to the sound, finding Allen and his fucking team storming in. Which, he wasn’t sure why they were even fucking here, he hadn’t called it in. Assholes were trying to take his find and make him look stupid. He frowned, but of course, knowing the dangers of firing at this muder machine he really didn’t think Allen had made the right call to just go in guns blazing. Not really much he could do to change it and now he just had to avoid getting shot. 

The adrenaline pumping through his veins doubled when he focused back on the android in time for it to charge at him, running full speed towards him. And that motherfucker was _fast._

Gavin swore he’d have a heart attack, this was it, it was going to attack him and probably make him look like some form of mashed potatoes all because Allen couldn’t stand anyone stepping on his toes. Upon instinct he pulled his gun out in time for the android to have reached him, he fired blindly, finger pulling the trigger before he really had proper time to think about what he was doing and where he was shooting. Everything was just happening so fast. 

RK900 had his arm around him and pulled him firmly into it’s chest- oh, meat shield. How nice. 

Except, it seemed to crowd around Gavin’s body. Puffing it’s synthetic chest out even though that’s where it’s heart lay, the most important part of an android’s body being displayed in vulnerability. Connor explained it once to him and this time fear stained his blood. The android was actively trying to protect him, and with its arm slung around his waist, Gavin knew he should be worrying over much bigger things. But he was touch starved and needy, there was copious amounts of comfort in just the single gesture that had him seeing clearly. Enough so that he got a good look at how the RK dealt with the problem- which he did pretty fucking quickly, if Gavin was being honest again, way too quickly. 

RK900 took the gun from out of his hands, pointed it and with excellent aim, and shot the remaining bullets in the chamber. Guns dropped like rain pellets, a hint of blood spraying from the gunshot wounds to the wrist but aside from that, the android hadn’t actively tried to murder anybody. It looked like he was more sparing the people around him, even if they were trying to fucking murder him. That took guts, Gavin would be too scared and petty to do the same thing- the empty clicking of the chamber reminded the detective to the limitations suddenly rounding them both. Though he was protected by the bulk of the RK unit, his cop training made him feel restless. He was suppose to do the protecting. Not be protected; what was he, some twilight basic bitch?

As Allen’s SWAT team reached behind their backs to draw another gun, RK900 tossed his emptied weapon into the air, all eyes flew to it. Gavin then was moving faster then he could’ve dreamed of back in highschool during cross country competitions, the android effectively tugging him into cover as he gave his surprised yelp. At a complete loss, Gavin crouched there and sputtered like an idiot. Never did he expect a shootout today, maybe on other days or adventures, but not this one. Maybe he shouldn’t have joked around with Tina about this. Speaking of, he’s glad this shit fell over him and not her. 

A touch brought his mind back, a single warm hand patting him down. It started at his chest, pressing a little bit into his ribs and front, slithering around back and feeling around his spine and waist. It occurred to him first that he was being _felt up,_ though it hit him afterwards that perhaps it was only just a checkup to see if he’d been shot. 

What a thoughtful bastard. 

The detective’s heart squeezed in guilt, the echoing of bullets making the reality of the situation sink in that much harsher than before. This fucking RK unit was rather sweet, in a fucked up sense for a fucked up situation, and it was considerate. He could snap all of their necks without batting an eye but actively chose not to. Avoided it entirely, was even helping him out with the expense of his own life and freedom. And what had Gavin done to deserve that? 

Absolutely nothing. 

The android straightens it’s back as the firing grows quieter, leaning down towards him, casting a shadow over Gavin’s body and protecting him from the rain water above; yet also from the approaching SWAT. Those bitches are after _it_ not Gavin, he should have been using Gavin to cover _himself,_ not the other way around. The third thought he has, is that it cares and maybe isn’t so machine after all. 

Fowler was wrong about it. So was Markus and Connor, the prejudice was unjustified. 

As he met the RK’s eyes, vibrant red moons of very pinched concern, Gavin felt his heartbeat speed up. And that wasn’t because a rather handsomely drenched android was kinda watching the human down his perfect nose with Greek God pecs and abs in his face, but rather because he could see Allen’s guys creeping up behind it’s back. 

Guns raised and aimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize for not updating quicker, my intentions were to update this within two days of each other but as you can see that just didn't happen.  
> My family came over for two weeks for graduation, school started up for me again, and my classes are much more fast-paced then I thought. I basically study most nights and sleep when I'm not buried inside a textbook lmao.
> 
> But I also want to thank you for your patience and kind words <3  
> I cannot promise a date for the updates at this time, but I am working on them. Feel free to check in anytime though
> 
> anywho!!!  
> I'd love to know your thoughts and opinions; Do we like Gavin so far? Is Nines still baby?  
> Are any questions answered from Nines' POV? How do we feel about Connor/Allen?
> 
> I'd love to hear from you!!! <3


	3. Fighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things were about to get a whole lot more confusing, that was for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _ **Warning!!!**_  
>  The fighting continues- Gavin mentions abuse

A hand or two grabs RK900 and violently rips him away from the detective, the noise of it’s back and limbs sliding across the pavement making him cringe. The sound of metal scratching against solid material tensing him even further yet all the while the pretty murder bot does absolutely nothing in defense, only watches Gavin and the members close to him. 

_”It’s only priority is itself, RK900 can and will do whatever it takes to ensure it gets what it wants. And that includes maiming, killing, or psychological manipulation. While it’s social programs and regulations weren’t installed completely, nor as developed as my own, it can still say nasty remarks.” Connor rambles, eyes looking anywhere but at Hank’s, Gavin’s, and Tina’s. Hell, even Chris._

_“I thought you said it’s less hostile to humans?” Chris mutters, brows and shoulders drawn._

_“It is. But that does not exclude it’s killing instinct. CyberLife allowed me to deem anyone or thing an obstacle, furthermore, allowed me the option of ridding the obstacle by dirty means.”_

It’s abuse. That’s the only term Gavin can use, it’s hands and feet laying still at it’s sides while it’s beaten. It’s head whips to the side as fists and the butt end of rifles meets it’s cheeks, eyes glazing and looking unfocused when the gun’s end collides harshly into it’s forehead. The LED is spinning red, rapid firing into the atmosphere. Gavin missed it’s earlier yellow, how peaceful it looked reflecting the raindrops. 

It’s bleeding. 

“Stop.” He hears himself mumble, voice a faint whisper above the roaring in his ears. 

And then the RK is looking at him, having clearly heard his quiet plea. Gavin’s eyes widen in horror as he witnesses it _cry._

It’s eyes hold sorrow, so much shame and fright that when the first tear slips, Gavin’s heart stops. Allen and his men are ruthless as they beat down on it, the android shaking a bit with each retreating kick, punch, or claw. The skin around it’s face and eyes flickering in and out, blinding in darkness and despair. He’s still, so dangerously still and pliant as he’s hit, and Gavin knows it can win. Knows it can keep them all pinned in place with a glare alone and yet it’s losing. _Letting_ itself lose.

More tears spill out of it’s eyes, one iris flickering until it changes into the blue eyes Gavin has a weak spot for. He adores how pretty they looked previously yet now they do nothing but transfer the pain. And how wrong this all is hits Gavin with the intensity of a rhino defending it’s turf.

Memories of the same instance came flickering back, how he wished someone would’ve been at his side, how he dreamed of someone to just fucking stand up or say something for him. If only someone would have helped him, maybe his scar wouldn’t be here. Maybe it’d be less fucking prominent if someone had bothered to help him clean up after the maiming. But no, everyone had abandoned him then. Gavin had zero intentions of abandoning this android. Not whenever it looked at him as if he was everything, not regretting the small instance they met, the stroke of chance and luck. Not when it stared deep into his soul with the same fear that’s plagued Gavin before and haunts his dreams. The same look that watches him in the mirror most nights.

It’s not fucking right. 

The detective, before really thinking better of it, jumps into the circle and grabs the nearest asshole. He strongly shoves them away, backing up when guns point to his heart and head but never walking from the fallen RK’s side. He stays rooted to the spot and glares, downright snarls. 

“Stand fucking down!” He roars with venom, flashing his badge with his own intentions of murder. 

Allen looks pissy, his team reaiming to the RK900 bleeding on the cement. Bitch even steps forward with some swagger, obviously trying to get Reed to cower. “We have our orders.”

Gavin answers to that with his own puffed chest and a nasty, “Yeah? Well _fuck you,_ I have my own too!”

Allen looks annoyed. 

“Markus said to just detain him! Nothing fucking else, you’re tryna kill ‘em!”

“What Markus said is that he’s a high level threat to the safety and security of the community and that he must be captured and detained until they get a clue as to how to proceed!” Allen yells, aiming his fucking gun right at the android’s heart. And the poor soul doesn’t even flinch. “You heard what he’s capable of! We need to limit his abilities while we can!”

The RK900 is as defenseless as a puppy dog, looking so hurt and dejected. 

Gavin screams at the top of his lungs. “Like hell you are! These fuckers have rights now, you can’t do that! He’s fucking complying, what more do you want!”

Allen doesn’t say a word, so Gavin continues. 

“I was handling him just fine before you came in all gung-ho!” He says matter-of-factly. 

“He charged you.” The dickhead counters. 

“Because you fucking shot at me, _dickhead!”_ Gavin fumes, wildly flailing his hands to emphasize his meaning. Under him, he sees the android nod, looking maybe relieved if he had to guess. But then again, he didn’t have an entire face and Gavin wasn’t fully looking the android in the eye, so anything could’ve been said. For all he really knew, the RK900 could’ve been making a face. 

But then another shot rang out, loud and clear, and right into the android laying lax and entirely defenseless on the floor. 

Fed up and done with the entire situation, Gavin roared. His anger boiling outside of his body in the form of his fists flying straight towards Allen with the snarky grin and blasted good looks. The dick who thought he was right all the fucking time, no matter what, no matter who he was going against or anything of the sort. He always had to be on top, and people like Allen really pissed him off. The detective was practically begging for a reason to fight, with one presenting itself like a welcoming embrace, he gladly leaped at the chance. Aiming squarely for the asshole’s jaw. 

He gets a second to realize he’s actually hit the motherfucker, another to process he’s been hit back, and then they’re full out brawling. 

Allen gets a swing to his stomach and Gavin doubles over, put inside a weak hold before he barrels out of it and uppercuts the fucker with his head. Serves the bastard right, yet Gavin gets no time to gloat as he’s punched with the full force of the guy’s body weight and strength right in the face. He feels the familiar pain licking up his nerves, staining across every patch of skin and stinging with the force of a vengeful stormy ocean. He sucks in a breath in surprise, hands scrambling to cup around his _what he knows is fucking broken_ nose. 

Gavin just blinks, and then the RK900 is there. 

His eyes are blood moon red, glaring with the entirety of a nation built on bloodshed and all too happy for torment. The RK unit makes the Captain fall to his knees within seconds, a little tilt to his lips as he stares down the human before him as if he’s a roach, a greasy, slimy little parasite. Allen claws at the black hand holding him down, gasping and sputtering, looking utterly terrified and for a moment all Gavin thinks as the blood drips down his chin is _good. Serves him right._

But then the thought that this is going too far, as Allen cries out in a sickeningly tight voice, choking on silent fear, surfaces. And Gavin sees they’re in a position no different then the one previous, only the tables have turned. This has to stop. 

So the detective takes a leap of faith and puts his hand to the android’s shoulder with a certain ease he hopes is soothing. The same having worked and been done on him countless times by Tina, or other people close enough to him to not in decked for the attempt. 

With all the courage he can bring to the forefront of his mind, cooling his short and sparked temper, Gavin gives a loud. “Stop!”

And what surprises him is that it works. 

“It seems he’ll listen to you,” Allen says between uneven breaths after silence rings around them. 

Gavin only glares, chewing on his tongue to bite back the venom that rests there. The RK900 looks at him and must’ve gotten pissed or something, since he leans down and whispers something into Allen’s ear that he visibly sees the Captain recoil fearfully from. Then, RK900 promptly bashes their faces together and breaks _Allen’s_ nose. 

The day could not possibly get any crazier, or he fuckin’ hopes so, at the very damn least. 

Stumbling into action, Gavin shoves the android out of the way muttering little swears. The fucking SWAT team circling around Allen like he was the goddamn queen bee that needed coddling, disgusting. He tenses, ready to fight tooth and nail for this dumbass bot. Lord save his soul. 

Whether it be the broken nose, that pain both humans now fully feel stinging intensely, or the insistently angered android, Allen raises his hand. “Let Reed take him.”

Needing the last word as a surge of pain flares up, Gavin hisses, “Be grateful I didn’t let ‘em break your fuckin’ hand, asshole.”

Yet, Allen always needs to one up him. Prissy bitch. “I’ll be reporting this.”

But two can play that game, his brother was a goddamn theatre kid. “So will I.”

Gavin spins and finds the android hovering near him, ready to defend the detective and probably damn well succeed if he were honest. It strikes him how this RK will protect him with everything he has without another real reason, a thought or another care. Knowing that he would’ve gladly vouched for him to have been shot point blank in earlier years makes Gavin look elsewhere, not being able to stomach the care he’s been exposed to. So he does what he does best, stay bitchy and hope the problem solves itself. 

The human’s walking out the alleyway, he registers the android’s presence by his side and he holds in his sigh. Nose throbbing and agonizing and fuck, he’s gonna have to deal with that later, isn’t he?

Then the RK isn’t there, so he stops and turns. Only to be met with the android crouched over a puddle, staring at it and playing with the frozen ice cubes inside it as if they weren’t on the fucking run. 

“Hey, Arnold Schwarzengger, keep up!” His voice seems to fall on deaf ears. 

RK900 looks so enthralled by _ice_ that Gavin doesn’t really know how to proceed. If he yells again, he feels like he’d be being nasty to a toddler and the shit would cry. Yet if he lets the android just do what he wants and waste time, then they’d have another altercation on their hands. And Gavin isn’t confident they’ll be able to walk away from it next time. 

The detective walks over, pouts as he directs his line of sight on the android again. The bot’s so happy that he feels something in his chest tighten. Something that flutters and crawls inside his lungs and thrums against his heart. Fuck, does he hate the feeling. 

“Hey, Austin Powers. Have you never seen a damn puddle before?” He’s joking, sarcastic of course, but then RK900 _nods_ and Gavin just doesn’t know how to feel. 

He reels for a moment, lost and definitely not saying what he was about to say, stuck on this new concept. That the robot was alive for a considerable amount of time and has never been fucking outside. How fucking strange was that to wrap your mind around? He, personally, couldn’t depict one afternoon without taking a stroll out of the department or his home. But in the entirety of his life, living it indoors with minimal company if he’s lucky, never stepping foot outside his room- no, he’d just about die. The human loved being active, loved chasing criminals, loved his job. Picturing his dream never having came true crushed something within him.

Gavin has to ask while his emotions run amuck. “Have you ever been _outside?”_

RK900 shakes his head again. 

Gavin is, for lack of a better word, completely shocked. 

“Lets-....,” He grumbles. Not being able to take the now blue eyes shining brightly at him, silently coaxing him to keep talking, listening so closely Gavin feels way more important than he really is. “Let’s get you somewhere dryer.”

The RK looks so goddamn depressed all of a sudden, shoulders hunching, eyes a little sorrowful as he stares at the little collection of water. Gavin’s heart is weak within the moment, instincts to comfort or at least try to, taking over and his hands reaching forward. To do what? He isn’t so sure of. Maybe pull the android into a hug or maybe just rest his hand on that broad shoulder, maybe only a touch would be enough. 

Yet, how _stupid_ does that all sound? Very idiotic when he repeats it inside his head like a broken mantra. 

So his hand falls back to his side, Gavin catches the way the RK900’s eyes track his movements. Maybe the asshole’s on edge. 

Right, right, they needed to get out of here. “There’s better things to see. Promise, just come with me?” _I don’t want to leave you. It’s not fair._

He wasn’t expecting Nines to just fucking stand abruptly, though he almost begrudgingly straightens himself out, Gavin notes. So he’s scrambling to stand up too and not look like a fucking fool squatting on wet cement. 

His height makes him come up to about chest level, the wound from the bullet sparking and leaking profusely and that guilt resurfaces. The one he can’t explain but feels the obligation to justify. And Gavin tries to, he really does, but this sort of emotional vulnerability thing was not his ballpark. “Thanks, by the way. Back there. I mean, and sorry for shooting at you.”

The bitch doesn’t fucking speak, the awkward silence grows and the human’s squirming under the invisible pressure the RK’s unknowingly caused. God he hoped he didn’t offend the bot or anything- he was pretty good at fucking things up so this honestly shouldn’t be any different. Really, he should’ve suspected this would happen and not even have tried it. 

He should shut his trap and be quiet, yet the anxiousness setting in keeps his mouth running. “I would...look, I’m suppose to bring you into the station, but seeing as you’re a fucking newborn and currently America’s most wanted, I’m taking you to my house. Any objections?”

He isn’t met with any, a momentary spark of _something_ flashing behind those blue eyes. They dipped red for a second, like a ruby undertone that quickly melts before Gavin can really be sure if he saw it or not. 

Things were about to get a whole lot more confusing, that was for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the wait wasn't too long, and if it was I am sincerely sorry, and hope the update was worth it!!!
> 
> As I explained last chapter; School's wack, I'm tired, and brain shuts off a lot. 
> 
> Though as I am sure you're gonna guess, I'd truly love to hear from you guys! We have one more chapter to go- is anyone excited about thaT???


	4. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the RK grins that stupidly cute little smile again, Gavin’s hearts is gripped with talons and choked. Hard. “I wouldn’t fathom it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a lot of waiting,,,,and a lot of typing,,, i bring you the final chapter!!!
> 
> Five thousand words, twenty four pages, worth of straight up gay content and pure soft lads~
> 
> If you want to see the art for this chapter, check out my other story 'Escape' where all the links and artwork can be found!!
> 
> Now enjoy babes <3

The walk in the rain sucks. Gavin doesn’t understand why it’s so romantized, it’s fucking hell. His socks are wet inside his shoes, his fucking ass is wet, hair drenched and sticking to his forehead, all of it is purely annoying. And he was going to track water all over his carpets and floors, his little demons only going to get equally as drenched. 

Holding back a groan, he unlocks his door once they reach it. The silence does nothing but heighten the fact that his goddamn nose is broken and that shit _hurts._ It stopped bleeding as much, but he feels gross and crusty. Spying the opened curtain peering through his living room, he closes it. Tuna and Salad would play with the material and most likely fuck it up but he needed them drawn if he was going to harbor the RK900 here. 

And just what the fuck was he even doing? Hiding a fucking criminal inside his house- well, a part of his brain supplies, the android isn’t a criminal, not really. And just doesn’t _that_ make everything better? Wanting to get out of his wet clothes and needing to find and check on his babies, Gavin walks past the living room and heads towards the hallway leading to his room. Typically, if Tuna or Salad wasn’t out here playing or fucking his shit up, they were being lazy asshats and snoozing on his pillows. 

As he turns the corner he spies Salad, the tabby cat with a tortoiseshell mix, beautiful green eyes to match his own and the same temper too. Yet, they always got along. Gavin had a certain softness for her and as it turns out, she also had one for him. They were mostly insperapable; unless Tuna felt left out and laid over both of them. His grin comes easy, the stress almost melting away when he catches her and scoops her up. She responds by stretching her limbs out in a heap, making him struggle to keep her properly in his arms. As he’s whispering compliments to her, her interests peak and she cranes her pink little nose towards his, sniffing. 

Gavin gives her head a small peck, taking in the affection while it’s available, then a paw is gently batted at his broken nose and he hisses at the flaring pain. Salad jumps out of his arms in surprise, watching him carefully from the doorway of his bedroom, tail poised high and eyes slitted. _”Cazzo! Che palle!”_

Salad promptly ran away after the cursing, understanding the swears for what they were. Plus, the dark figure suddenly behind her human might’ve definitely raised a few red flags. Gavin was blind to it all, however, hand clamping around his nose to protect it from more abuse. He turns, thinking about chugging a bottle of painkillers, but rams into a solid _something._

_“Porca vacca!”_ He screeches, the italian slipping from his lips with no real thought or filter. Usually he was much better at keeping himself in check and speaking English yet sometimes his mind blanks, pulls the easiest thing out from his mind and most of the time, it’s his mother tongue. If his mother heard him now she’d certainly twist his ear and yell obscenities.

Though, as Gavin’s tipping backwards, feet tripping over themselves as he realizes who he had just ran into sends a shock and pit of fright through his frazzled nerves. But the RK’s hands easily grasped around his wrists, firm on keeping him balanced but not painful like he’d done on Allen. No, this was oddly gentle. 

“Shit, don’t fucking sneak up on a guy!” The detective rumbles in his agitation. 

Yet his eyes line up with the bullet wound, staring straight into what looked like complex codes and wires and what not. All things he didn’t understand, and at the root, was caused by him not being able to do his fucking job. Shame corrodes his sight and he’s feeling that ickiness again, that stupid fucking sympathy for the android. And the RK900 doesn’t reply to him. 

“They really did a number on you, huh?” Gavin mumbles, hearing the echoing metal shouting around in his brain, picturing those tears leaking down such an oddly pretty face. Those blue eyes were so intense staring him down. His hand raising as he goes to feel, to touch, curious despite himself and aching for something he cannot name and doesn’t want to try to. 

RK900 lets him, meets his questioning gaze and allows the human’s fingers to trace around the injury. The quiet deafening, he has to ask, “Can you not talk?”

He was aware of the hand still holding onto him, so lightly wrapped around him that he could’ve forgotten the RK was even touching him. Maybe it was an anchor for the bot, or maybe just an easier way to get the one up on him should he try something funny. Probably both, or something. Gavin tried to stop dwelling on finding an answer to that. 

Moments trickled by and the detective believed the lack of voice really did answer his question. He didn’t plan on pushing it, staring into the sparking labyrinth in interest and bits of guilt. He should’ve done more back there, shouldn’t have frozen up and just let the android handle everything. 

He doesn’t get to blame himself, as the RK900’s lips move and a very quiet, _”I can.”_ pops out. 

His voice is nice, if Gavin’s telling the truth. Has a nice baritone, a deepness to it, but not rough and scratchy like most men he knew. No, his was smooth like silk and suave like a rolling sea wave lapping on the beach at dusk. It was perfect. 

He shivered, finding a certain liking to that voice, a liking that was too much for someone that acted like a mesmerized toddler. He scolds himself quickly. 

“Then why don’t you?”

RK900 ponders this, if his scrunched face is anything to go by. It’s sorta cute- in a very weird, robotic sense. Gavin though, he was not weird. He’d bet a lot of people would think the same thing about this six foot two handsome blunder bot. He’s normal. It’s not weird. “This is my first conversation.”

Gavin’s hands stop their mindless fidgeting, laying over the bullet wound as he stares with comically wide eyes at the robot. “You’ve-...You’ve never- ?”

Before the detective has time to even further fuck up that sentence, RK900 is gently wiping away some blood that had drippled along his chin. His hand, however robotic, was almost warm and too fucking soft and considerate for Gavin. _Gay panic,_ Tina would say, as he hastily steps away and out of reach. 

They’re both pretty bloody, now that he thinks about it. He doesn’t need blood on his carpet. Plus the distraction would be nice, he supposes in the limelight. 

“I sh- I should clean us up.” Fuck, his face is hot. _Oh fuck, his face is hot._

He’s spinning on his heels only to be thrown off, a hand curling under his chin and guiding his entire body back like an alluring siren’s call. A moth drawn to a flame, Gavin’s letting that hand play him like a fiddle and encourage him closer. He watches those stunning eyes morph once more, into something softer, a gentler beam. Those cutting-edge features losing all of the stone cold bitchiness he once saw there, lost the imposing jackass vibe, and seemed so sincerely different that the human can do nothing but stand there and watch. 

“Let me,” And then the RK moves in close. Suave voice filling up Gavin’s body from toes to head, vibrating inside his chest and beating against his heart. _”Please.”_

You can’t blame him, after all of that, for agreeing blindly. And for once, he isn’t blaming himself for accepting help. “Okay, sure. Yeah, go for it.”

Wordlessly, RK900 goes and fetches a first aid kit. Gavin doesn’t think anything of it until the bot is standing right in front of him- just how and where did he know to look? He’s almost positive he doesn’t want to know the answer, finding out might lead to an actual moment from the Scream movies he makes fun of with Tina. The silence is heavy as it stretches above both their heads, the detective the only one who seemingless notices- or maybe he’s just the only one here that cares. 

“You got a name there, Casper?” The RK just about has his entire chest in his face, arm stretched over his face as the bot practically gives him a good front row seat to a gun show he didn’t know he needed to see. Such a solid, firm, muscular android- why did they need any of that? It wasn’t fucking fair. That’s totally gross and disgusting, Gavin’s disgusted. Yeah, that’s what he’s feeling. Disgust. 

“No.” Says the android plainly, already set to nanny him. “I was a discarded project, no one elected to dub me anything outside my activation model number.”

Connor’s voice, as goofy sounding and annoying as it was, echoed inside his mind. The pressing question he’s been dying to ask, the case he hasn’t been able to solve of why the stupid motherfucker was acting so weird today, pinged and chimed like a dinner bell. He has to ask. Every nerve burning alive as it thunders in his mind. 

“Heard from the grapevine that you’ve been on the back burner for years.” He sets it up. 

“Correct. Testing started after the hostage situation my predecessor was involved in. I have been active ever since.”

The hostage situation? Gavin’s no genuis, but he’s pretty fucking sure he can do some mental math and figure out that was way too fucking long to be going without social interaction. Without walking outside, without being able to play with a goddamn puddle. It makes a lot of sense as to why the android took everything with such wonder. It was because everything was a new experience waiting to be discovered for the first time. Gavin must’ve been the first decent interaction he’s ever fucking had- _him,_ Gavin Reed. Resident asshole. 

Just how _sad_ was that?

So, he thinks he’s justified when he interrupts RK washing his face. “You’ve been alive for three years!?”

“Four,” The bot says it like that helps anything. “Four years, eleven months, twenty eight days, sixteen hours, and roughly nine minutes.”

Gavin, unintentionally, grips him harder. “You’ve been alone and conscious for four years?”

Why does that _remind him of somebody?_

Of moving homes, countless families taking him in just to throw him out. The friend groups that left, the people that never stayed, the fights and the rebellious nature. The teachers that gave up on him, the stupid adults who never listened, the authorities not ever giving a rat’s ass. All of it fucking sucked, every single last bit of it. Some of it Gavin wouldn’t dream to wish on another soul, knowing how much hurt it’s caused, how much damage it’s left. And for the RK to have been through it, or some form of it, was god awful. And unfair. So fucking unfair. He hadn’t even done a single thing wrong, literally. 

_” That’s almost five years.”_ Fucking. People. 

“Correct.” The uncaring voice answering him back only rattled him further. How could he not care? Or- oh yeah, he was built to appear like he couldn’t give a fuck. The android couldn’t voice his opinion. Fucking people. 

“They kept you locked up, by yourself, abandoned, for nearly five years. And couldn’t give you a fucking name!?” Gavin starts, anger steady on it’s rise as RK900 gets his wrist free, dabbing gently around the dried blood encrusting his injury. He’s not angry, doesn’t look it. Still infuriates him more. 

“Why name a trashed project.” RK900 answers, as if it fucking helped. The underlying tone of _I don’t matter, I’m useless_ there as if shouted from the top of a building. 

He’s spitting words out before he could properly think about them. “No- No! You know what, fuck that!” 

“Do you wish to name me, Detective Reed?” The bot asks, still cleaning him up as if Gavin was incapable of doing so himself. Yet, it was nice to be cared for. It was nice to not do the patch up job for once.

“Me?” Gavin scoffs,” No, you should name yourself.”

“I’m afraid I cannot.”

With a watered down chuckle, he looks the android in his (not) dazzling eyes. “And why’s that?”

The stupid RK backs off, finally, and starts picking everything up. Speaking like this was a waste of his time yet he suspects the opposite based on how slow he was going, how his fingers lingered on skin, how his eyes traced. “I have no experience outside of CyberLife, my coding will not permit such acts of deviancy, and I am clueless as to how to properly proceed.”

_Again with the english dictionary._ “You don’t know what to pick?”

“Affirmative,” So robotic. Gavin actually wonders if he mistook the life he saw behind those eyes he can’t seem to stop looking into. “Would you like to give me a name?”

“Not my place,” He grunts. Because it really isn’t, and it feels wrong to thrust something so personal onto someone he barely knows- someone who barely knows themselves. It’s almost cheating, a shortcut. And Connor’s explained and harked about how powerful a name could be. 

Gavin won’t fuck this up, it’s too important. 

So he goes to walk out but manages to only get one step away. The sudden yank backwards has Gavin’s heart racing fast, adrenaline resourcing itself back into his bloodstream and getting him prepared for a fight. The throbbing in his nose reminder of what to be on the alert about before he just sees the RK900. Eyes imploring and so wide, brows pinched, lips clapped thinly together, looking nowhere else but at him. Not his bloody nose, not his scar, but at _all_ of him. 

“Pick my name.” The android whispers and if Gavin were a fool, he’d say the RK was begging him. And he was, in fact, stupid since he fully deblieved the android to be pleading with him. 

Gavin waits for this to be a joke, waits for the RK900 to push him aside and say it was all some sort of fucked up test. But he just keeps staring, waiting. 

And Gavin breaks, “Richard.”

Embarrassed he looks away, though not being able to know if the name would stick engulfed him with endless nerves. Was that dumb- had he picked a stupid name? Was a robot going to make fun of him? He’s only ever named turtles and cats! And even then, they were based off jokes or whatever he found funny. He shouldn’t be in charge of picking a person’s name!

But then this small, quirky grin spreads across the R- er, _Richard’s_ face and Gavin just appreciates how good it looks on him. “Thank you.” 

_No, he’s not checking the amazingly ripped android with the gorgeous off-smile out, thank you very much._ “Whatever, don’t mention it.”

The sudden pounding against his door makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand back up, the threat of Allen’s bitchass calling him in and demanding more troops to barge into his house to collect Richard looming so ominously over them both. If that motherfucker wants to be dramatic and pay for the door he’s about to break down then Gavin will happily send the bill, his door isn’t opening. Speaking of-

The little light against Richard’s temple flicks yellow, and whatever the fuck he’s doing is anyone’s best guess. Gavin knows fuckall abouot androids, even if Connor’s explained to him countless times what he can and can’t do and what it means when his LED does whatever, he still hasn’t remembered much. To be fair, Connor’s a fucking boring teacher. 

Richard looks down at him then, “It is Tina Chen.”

Gavin gives him this look because there’s no way in hell he could know that.The sound of her shoes with super hearing and quick maths gave it away? Sure. Science, right? “How do you know?”

Richard holds his hand out and a little image pops up, and sure enough he spies Tina at his door though she looks as pissed off and fed up as ever. She pulls her phone out and sends him a message, he’s a little horrified to feel his phone vibrate and hear the soft chime of the alert. He’s about to shit himself as he pulls his phone out to check and sees Tina asking if he’s home. 

“I’ll be damned,” He whispers under his breath as Tina sends another round on the door. Richard can do this level of James Bond shit?

His mind is whirling as he straightened himself out, a new, darker thought emerging. There’s just no way he can drag Tina into all of this trouble and quite possibly risk her badge. Let alone her probable arrest, he’s been to juvie once before and got out just fine, only with the facial scarring though he’s positive he won’t be fucked up too much. The bark and bite is still within him, he’s positive he can hold his own but he refuses to fathom himself and his best fucking friend in that same scenario. 

He can’t subject her to that. 

“Look,” Gavin finally breathes. He’s pushing the RK back towards the tub, the only real place to hide him. He doubts Chen would want to stop by for a midnight piss and if she does barges into his room then the bathroom should be the safest option. “You gotta hide, she can’t see you. I hafta type up my report and get the facts straight before anyone knows you’re fuckin’ hiding out here.”

As the droid sits stiffly inside the bathtub, Gavin pulls the curtains but the rough and dark outline of those broad shoulders bleed right through his shitty fucking pearl curtains. He growls as he yanks them back open and shoves Richard down lower. 

God, he just hopes this bullshit actually works. It works for Scooby Doo, it should goddamn work for him, just this one time.

“Okay, stay here. Don’t move, don’t make a noise- just- just chill out? Until I get back?”

“As you wish, Detective.” Richard says that readily, like he’s pleased to be a wanted fugitive hiding inside a cop’s fucking bathroom. 

Gavin’s shaking his head as he stands, cursing softly under his breath as he walks to the door. The steps he takes is lacking and ends too soon in his opinion, the door way too close way too soon. He doesn’t like lying to Tina, doesn’t really like lying to anyone if he’s honest. Too much to remember. Plus the very foundation of his job was built off of truth; discovering it, finding it, picking it out from lies. He hates this entire fucking situation, he repeats that phrase like a mantra as the door whips open the second he unlocks it. 

“What the fuck happened to you!” Flies right out of his friend’s lips as soon as she sees him, rightfully so. Even with the bandages and the freshened up look, he looks like hot shit and he knows it. 

“Allen and his cheerleaders.” He’s weakly snickering, hiding the cringe from the short lived pain with a breathy wheeze.

“What did you say!?” She screeches, hand coming up to hold his face still and inspect it herself. 

“Why are you assuming I started shit?”

“Please! You always run your mouth, Reed, it’s kinda your thing!” She howls, eyes wild as they check for more bruises.

“Well, it wasn’t this time!” He hisses when her finger gets too close and puts unneeded pressure on his bruised nose. She backs off quickly, looking apologetic for a moment before that temper slithers back and takes some of that softness away. 

“You should’ve checked in with me like we agreed on.”

“I know,” Gavin sighs. Shoulders falling as he leans against the opened door. The exhaustion hitting him harder than usual, bone deep and spreading. “I’m sorry. But I’m in some deep shit right now and I don’t want you getting roped in. You gotta leave, T.”

“Deep shit?” Chen echoes, worry plastered all over her features. “What’d Allen do?”

For a few long minutes, they both just stood there watching the other. Gavin with his unwillingness to spill and Tina with her loyalty to stay and do what she can, a dare to the other to back down first. Typically, Gavin would cave. Never keeping a thing from his closest friend and never having the true will to want to keep anything from her. There was a time he lived with her and her mother, where they took him in when his newest foster family grew more and more toxic. He owed her a lot of things, maybe even everything because of her endless support. Yet, he stood his ground, even as that harset expression morphs into one of sad repressions. His heart thundering loudly in his chest, anxieties high, thinking he’d need to command her to leave. 

Though before he has the time to pity that option, Chen lets it go. Her eyes falling to the floor where they once held his, brows scrunched and demeanor downcast. 

“Fine.” Tina grumbles, upset but no less stubborn. “Don’t tell me. But if this gets too much, I’m helping you. If and when this passes, you owe me an explanation.”

He can’t deny her that, with the trouble he’s been known to get into, asking for this much, he knows he’s testing limits. He won’t push to break. “Deal.” 

She gives him this long and steady look that makes him squirm, the guilt in his stomach churning venomously as the worry in her eyes only intensifies. He knows it’s not right to be pulling one over on his only ally like this, but it’s for good reason and his intentions are pure- yet how many villians in a kids cartoon have the same excuse? Fucking hell, he’s over thinking things, isn’t he? Fun. 

As Tina reaches out and gives his arm a squeeze, she also sends him a small smile. It’s a little forced, yet there’s the same acceptance in there as when they first started the nigh shiftt. Gavin tries to flash her one in return, hopes it shines just as bright, before she backs away and her hand leaves his skin. He wants to yank her so badly inside and show her, explain it all to her now, have someone on board to tell him he isn’t crazy and that he’s doing the right thing. He feels like he’s sweating as they both wait there at his door, chills prickling his flesh as he clamps his mouth shut. Stiffly, he gives her a nod that speaks for himself, translates everything he wished he could tell her and more as the door quietly shuts in her face. The feeling he’s left with isn’t satisfying in the least. 

The walk to the bathroom is filled with Gavin’s frantic steps, his not so quiet blundering to the door. His temper, kindled by his shame, flares and rears itself as he yanks the door open loudly, the poor wood creaking in protest. _“Porca miseria_ — that was close!”

Richard hugs the side of the tub, for whatever reason and sends him a glare. It doesn’t hold the violent intent he witnessed earlier, nor does it contain real malice, but it’s a glare all the same.

“What?” Thrown off, Gavin grows defensive. “Yeah, whatever! It’s not like I’m sticking my neck out for ya or somethin’!”

Richard’s eyes squint, narrowing harshly as they peer at him from below. Even if Gavin felt like they’d fight from how intensely he’s being suddenly monitored, he knew that was a fight he’d lose. And with striking suspicion, the android responds with a tense, “Why _are_ you helping me, detective?”

Gavin wasn’t prepared for that question, and more importantly, he didn’t want to give Richard the wrong idea. Why was he helping indeed, even he was a little blind to that truth. “B-Because!”

Good argument, his old english teachers would be so proud. 

“Because?” The RK prompts him. 

Saying the first thing he thought of to change the topic, Gavin growled before he stalked off to the sink, snatching a new rag from out a cabinet and wetting it. “You got that prick’s blood on your face.”

He goes to his little ‘science’ project, as Elijah would say, but stops short when the android licks the drying blood from his lips. Bright pink tongue shooting out and slowly swiping the crimson mess before withdrawing back into the safety of Richard’s mouth, those striking eyes staring him right into his own as he did all of it. Purposely baiting Gavin, watching him closely and seemingly smirking in silence once he evidently found whatever it was he was searching for. 

“Captain Allen is prone to heart disease,” Richard comments offhandedly. His interests are more onto Gavin then he seems to realize, and Gavin has to grapple with the fact that a highly advanced prototype android meant to decimate nations is with him. “It runs in his family, mostly his mothers’ side.”

Gavin smooths his hair back, a useless nervous tick he’s never getting rid of, and gapes. “Wh- Did you just fuckin’ _lick his blood?_ Off your own face?”

“Yes,” Cool. Gavin sarcastically murmurs inside his own head, much too on-edge to risk Richard overhearing him with his super fucking hearing and beating his ass. He’ll gladly skip that one thanks. Then the dumbass smudges the blood, and Gavin knows the RK sees the rag he has in hand. Asshole. “I can find the chemical composition and makeup of everything there is to know about his DNA. With my updated and advanced sensors, my abilities far superior RK800’s.”

Why is he bringing up Connor? And he sounds so bedruging when he lists his abilities, there’s no pride in them, just stating a fact with cold abandon in hopes that it’ll be accepted and land evenly. He sounds so detached, as if he isn’t allowed to put any emotion behind those words- not allowed in the sense that he’d show some type of weakness. 

An insecurity. 

That’s what it was, Richard was insecure when it came to Connor. Probably because the asshole knew about him and never said a fucking word. And Gavin really thought he was a dick, turns out Mister Goody two shoes is an even bigger one. 

“You ain’t gotta prove nothin’ to me, Rich.” He mumbled before grabbing the RK’s face akin to how he was held before by opposite hands. 

But then Richard takes his wrist and pushes his hand flat against his face, as if he couldn’t get enough of the touch, the feeling. Like a user to heroine, needing another fix, another hit. The quietly masked desperation of need, seeing it twinkle in blue eyes that keep him trapped with one soulful look. “You called me Rich.”

It’s whispered, feeling laced into each syllable and annunciation that leaves full lips. It makes his heart do cringe worthy stuff; fluttering, flipping, the whole nine yards. And it hits him then that it’s the only variation of his name, outside his old designation, that he’s heard. As so many other of his ‘firsts’ have been shared with Gavin, given _by_ him. It makes him less wound up because Richard truly doesn’t mean anything by his trepidation or hesitance, and Gavin has to respect that as best he can. 

“Yeah, it’s a nickname.” He explains softly, “Like how some people call me Gav, instead of Gavin or ‘Detective Reed.’ ” 

“You gave me a nickname.” Richard says it as if paying Gavin some form of devotion, reverend, and it seriously messes up everything he planned on doing. Keeping his distance, maintaining some form of professionalism, doing lighthearted questioning. But all of that was ruined now. 

Instead, Gavin cradles the android’s face and watches as the RK seems to melt into his palms. So touch starved and needy, so willing, practically the puddle he was obsessed with before. His baby blues dance and shine as he raises his own metallic hand, pausing to see if Gavin will allow it and faintly beams when he does. Nimble hands just as tender and sweet as before landing to dance on his cheek. 

“Can I-... Can I call you that, Detective?” The RK can’t keep looking at him like that, like he’s the entire world and nothing else is ever in orbit. It makes Gavin feel special, too special, like this is going somewhere. 

So he leans in, eyes falling closed, transfixed in the spell Richard wholly set for him by an android with so much power- who kneels obediently for a ragged, scarred human. And as he nears, he notices that the RK doesn’t go anywhere, patiently waits as their distance slowly shrivels. But then he smiles, that blindingly bright, intoxicatingly warm smile that has Gavin backpedaling faster then in highschool when he kissed a straight guy. 

Because Richard is new to the world, it’d be wrong of him to claim a first kiss when the poor idiot probably doesn’t even know what being gay means! He feels his face flush, the red tint going down his neck and furthering his embarrassment.

Without thinking, he scratches the scar over his nose and recoils from the stinging pain that shoots as sharp as an arrow through his pleasant daydream. Making him hiss but it dies down as Richard finds another excuse to hold him. Grabbing Gavin’s hand and gently holding on to it so he won’t further agitate his own injuries. 

“Be careful, Gav.” It’s illegal how smoothly his own nickname rolls off that tongue. 

“Whatever!” He screeches defensively, “I-It’s fine, metalhead, just let me do what I came here to do!”

“And that would be?” The asshole’s teasing him, great. Real fucking great. 

“Cleaning you up, you big baby.” He answers heatedly, trying to wipe the smug smile right off Richard’s face by furiously scrubbing the encrusted blood off, actively avoiding the memory of that tongue swiping out of those rosy lips. _Fuck._

“I am not an infant.” The fucker _pouts,_ like a spoiled child and it takes everything in him to not burst out laughing. 

“You act like one.” 

“Is that bothersome, Gav?” The android asks as if he might need to change, to conform to whatever the fuck he thinks will make Gavin feel better, or like him more. The underlying note of approval-seeking just there, stupidly hidden in open waters for anyone to find. 

Just what did CyberLife program him with? It’s fucked up, so each pass of his rag is gentler, easier, and given with more thought. 

“Don’t change for no one.” Gavin grumbles, a bit too caught up inside his own head to truly see what awaited in store for him. 

“Thank you, Gavin.”

“Yea, yeah.” He scoffs, sweltering under his own _now obvious_ crush on this clueless oaf of a prototype. “Don’t tell anybody I was nice to ya. Got a reputation of an ass to uphold.”

As the RK grins that stupidly cute little smile again, Gavin’s hearts is gripped with talons and choked. Hard. “I wouldn’t fathom it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended up being longer then I thought, this chapter, but I managed to finish it and I hope the wait is worth it!!!  
> I know I always say that but I really try to deliver my best to you guys and I hope you do enjoy what I've written!
> 
> I'd love to know your thoughts about this chapter, or for the characters, or speculations for future additions!
> 
> If you'd like to know what I'm currently working on, it's a new update for Tell Me About Yourself,,,going slow but,,,we're getting there! Hope to see you in my next installment <33 much love~

**Author's Note:**

> Gavin: we not findin this bitch  
> also Gavin: finds Nines  
> Gavin: ( : 0
> 
> umm,,,,i hope you don't mind me inserting my love for Tina, she's always gonna be in my fics somehow sorry not sorry  
> but besides that  
> thoughts?


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